The library system is moving to a new mobile app! The current library mobile app will not be available after February. This only relates to the library’s mobile app (used on phones and tablets). You can still connect to the library through your desktop, laptop, or mobile device’s web browser at https://ssf.bibliocommons.com/ Projected date for the new mobile app is February. We apologize for the inconvenience

The Year of Living Biblically

One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

Raised in a secular family but interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes. Jacobs embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally: he tours a creationist museum and sings hymns with Amish; he dances with Hasidic Jews and does Scripture study with Jehovah's Witnesses. He wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the 21st-century brain, and he discovers ancient wisdom of startling relevance.--From publisher description.

Related Resources

Opinion

From the critics

Community Activity

Comment

In his second book, (the first is entitled The Know-it-all), Jacobs makes a quest to live the ultimate biblical life. His approach is humorous and informative. How do you follow the Bible to the letter while living in New York city?

This one's a keeper - I'm going to buy my own copy. AJ Jacobs in part wanted to show how ridiculous it is to attempt to follow the laws of the Bible literally and to follow all of them. Over the course of the book, he realizes that absolutely no one - not even evangelical Christians - follows the Bible wholly and literally. Everyone who follows it, follows "Cafe Christianity" or "Cafe Judaism" - and is none the worse for it. As he decides, by the end, why not pick and choose the things that help you to live a better life? ("better" meaning more compassionate, more mindful, more honest etc) This book is full of interesting anecdotes, as Jacobs delves into a wide range of spiritual practices in search of enlightenment. (The snake-handling branch of Christianity is incredibly interesting, and I was intrigued to have a glimpse inside the creationist museum along with him and to learn about the egg ceremony and the dancing and....so many fascinating tales in this book!)

Sometimes serious and poignant, sometimes uproariously funny. Full of very interesting insights into both Judaism and Christianity. I enjoyed reading about how the author's year-long experiment affected his family, especially his wife.

A J Jacobs does it again. His wife deserves 80% of the royalities for putting up with Jacobs' 'research'.

Too funny.

Added irony that many of those living in the 'Bible Belt' would probably look down their noses if he had done his project in their midst.

crankylibrarian
Sep 19, 2011

It's easy to poke fun at someone else's oddball beliefs or customs; I do it all the time.What's great about this books is that Jacobs looks beyond the weirdness to how these arcane customs affect people's lives. No matter how agnostic you are, it's hard to not admire the communal joy the Hasidim experience while dancing with the Torah, or the tight knit support among the Amish.<br/><br/>Jacobs also realizes that even the weirdest rules help him to become a better person. Not shaving his beard for example reminds him of the commandment to not harvest the corners of a field, but to leave that bit for the poor. Putting on tefillin is a tangible reminder of the Commandments literally before his eyes.<br/><br/>For those who still scoff, ask yourself, how often do I lie, get angry needlessly, indulge myself at the expense of others? Am I really giving as much to charity as I can afford? Am I really leading an ethical life? Following the Bible isn't the only route to living ethically, but as Jacobs discover, it certainly makes one live *mindfully*.

LocketLibrarian
Aug 02, 2011

Interesting read. Again I learn more about religion and faith from an unlikely source.

Age

Quotes

You see, the ATM charged me a $1.75 fee for withdrawal. A dollar seventy-five? That's bananas. So I flipped off the screen. As Julie tells me, when you start making rude gestures to inanimate objects, it's time to work on your anger issues.